Chapter 3312 Smooth
"Zhishan, when will these seven selected children go to the capital?"
"Let them pack up, say goodbye to their families, and then go to the capital after the Ghost Festival," Bai Shan said. "I've contacted the academy in the capital and will let them start studying there. The Imperial College will hold an entrance exam in the autumn, and they can try then."
If they could be admitted to the Imperial College, their future would be half assured.
Bai Shen's eyes lit up slightly, and he asked, "How confident are you, Cousin Shan?"
Bai Shan: "Me? I'm not sure. It depends on them. I will do my best to help them. As long as they work hard, I think the chances are great."
He smiled slightly and said, "Studying depends on yourself."
As they walked, they came to the rockery in the yard. Bai Shan looked up at the large rockery, which had not changed much.
A nearby clan member smiled and said, "This rockery was built by the great-grandfather of the second branch. He wanted it to allow the clan's students to climb high and see far into the distance, thus cultivating their sentiments. It can be said that this rockery is the most popular place in the clan school. Brother Shan has been away from home for many years. I wonder if you still remember this rockery?"
Bai Shan raised his head to look at the rockery and said with a smile, "Of course I remember." This rockery was the thing that impressed him the most.
Someone nearby immediately grabbed the man and said in a low voice, "Shut up! Bai Shan once fell from a rockery and nearly lost his life. Why are you mentioning a rockery?"
"How should I know?"
Bai Shen was also a little embarrassed and said hurriedly, "Brother Shan, do you want to go to the library? The books and notes you sent last time are all in the library. Many students in the school go there to copy them after school every day."
Bai Shan nodded, "Okay, let's go and take a look."
The library of the clan school is actually a study room. There seem to be quite a few books in it, but in fact most of them are repetitive. Most of them are notes taken by some clan members while reading. They are very precious, but the books are not wide enough, so there are not many of them.
Bai Shan flipped through the books and found that even the "Six Strategies" was incomplete, so he put the book back on the bookshelf. It seemed that each family kept their own books and no one was willing to put them in this library.
Bai Shan sighed inwardly and turned to Bai Shen, saying, "Cousin Shen, please tell those seven children that if they want to copy the notes I sent, they'd better copy them before leaving for the capital, otherwise I won't have another copy for them when we get there."
Bai Shen agreed and said with a smile, "When we get to the capital, I'll need your kind cousin's care and guidance."
Bai Shan smiled and nodded, "Yes, don't worry, cousin Shen."
Someone eagerly asked, "Should we let them take some servants with them? It would be too much trouble for the Princess's Mansion to have so many people come to the capital."
Bai Shan smiled and said, "No need, they just need to take their own luggage, and I will arrange everything else."
Among the seven children he selected, three of them could still bring servants from home, but the other four had difficulty even supporting their families' education, let alone bringing up servants.
So he didn't let them take any.
Bai Shan didn't want to arrange for them to live in the princess's mansion.
There are always many inconveniences when people you don't know well live under the same roof.
Fortunately, the Bai family has quite a few houses in the capital. Although they are not very big, they are not as big as Manbao’s mansion when added together.
But it is more than enough for seven teenagers to live in.
Bai Shan chose the house in Erliu Lane for them to live in.
The second courtyard of that house was once where Madam Liu and Zheng lived when they came to Beijing. It was fully equipped with everything and was close to the river bank. It was lively during the day but quiet at night, which made their life convenient and also cheap for their studies.
After all, they usually go to school during the day, so it doesn't matter whether the area near their residence is bustling or not.
Bai Shan decided to pick a group of servants to go over and only be responsible for their food, clothing and cleaning, while they would handle their own daily affairs.
Then he would hand them over to the academy, and he would occasionally visit and give them some guidance. That was all. Whether they could seize the opportunity depended on themselves.
Bai Shan chose a good person and then proposed to open an ancestral hall and keep the family tree.
He had just received two benefits from Bai Shan, and the matter had already been settled. It would be inappropriate for the Bai family to make things difficult for him on this matter, so as to avoid further deterioration of the relationship that had just been eased.
So the ancestral hall opened very smoothly. Not only was little Bai Jingxing included in the family tree, but Xia Mu was also noted in the family tree. The reason why his surname was Xia was recorded in detail at the end, and a lot of blank space was left, as it was expected that other important events in the future would have to be recorded.
Bai Shan glanced at the closed family tree, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and then he left with satisfaction.
"Brother Shan, let's go to the farm tomorrow to check on the crops. Why don't we go together?"
Bai Shan said with regret: "I really want to go, but I have to rush back to the capital early tomorrow morning."
He looked at the sky and suggested, "Why don't we go and see it now?"
"Now?" Bai Shen was surprised. "Why are you going back so soon?"
Bai Shan said, "There are many things to do in the court, and there are many trivial matters, so I only asked for three days of vacation, and I will come back with my rest. If I don't leave tomorrow, I won't be able to return in time to cancel my leave."
Although Bai Shen felt sorry, he couldn't force him to stay. "Alright, let's go and take a look now. I've heard that Cousin Shan has made great achievements in agriculture and sericulture. Today is a good opportunity to meet him."
Bai Shan has made some achievements, but they also need to understand what he says.
But Bai Shan still went there. He wanted to find the clansmen in the village to learn about the situation of the new rice seeds in Longzhou.
Outside the Bai family's land are fields, all belonging to the Bai family. Bai Shan's family fields are also in that area, but they are too far away. He didn't want to walk so far to see them, so he just looked at the rice in the farmland at the corner of the house.
Bai Shan touched the plump grains of rice, weighed the rice ears, and raised his lips in satisfaction. He asked, "Whose land is this?"
The man who was releasing water in the field immediately came up and saluted, "Greetings, Uncle Shan."
Seeing his gray beard, Bai Shan quickly reached out to support him. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Is this land yours?"
"Yes, both this and that."
Bai Shan smiled and said, "It looks like it's growing very well."
Seeing him carrying a hoe, he asked, "Are you planning to release the water for harvest?"
"Yes, the rice ears are drooping, and the leaves are starting to turn yellow. It will be ready for harvest in less than two weeks, so the water needs to be drained."
Bai Shan nodded slightly, squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil, smelled it, and nodded, "The soil is pretty good. How many times do you fertilize in a season?"
"twice."
Bai Shan asked him about his farming process in detail, and finally asked with a smile, "I saw the crops in the fields when I came here. This year is a bumper harvest year. Longzhou seems to have had good harvests in recent years."
"That's right. We've been lucky in Longzhou these past few years. Even when there have been droughts and floods, they haven't been severe. We've weathered them and the harvests have been pretty good." The old man sighed, "It's just that the price of grain has been getting lower every year. It seems like the harvest has increased, but the money we earn is about the same."
(End of this chapter)
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